When I was diagnosed with osteoporosis two years ago, I was fortunate enough to be offered a gold-standard treatment: romosozumab – a relatively new drug that helps rebuild bone. I gave myself monthly injections for a year, and they were easy, painless and side-effect free.
Afterwards, I moved onto infusions of zoledronic acid – a bisphosphonate – every 18 months to lock in those gains.
Those jabs have given me my life back. I’m no longer classed as having osteoporosis but osteopenia, and I feel far less fearful of more fractures.
Yet men with osteoporosis are being denied access to romosozumab – something I consider profoundly unfair. The reason is simple: the key trials were conducted in post-menopausal women, so it cannot be prescribed for men.
In my view, that stems from outdated stereotypes that osteoporosis only affects very elderly women. The result is discrimination – with men, particularly younger ones, going undiagnosed for years, and cases of osteopenia being missed too.
I’ve met many men whose lives have been devastated by this disease. Stephen Robinson, a father of three in his 70s from Yorkshire, suffered ten spinal fractures before he was diagnosed – one triggered by a sneeze. He was left unable to dress himself, cook or live independently. Broadcaster Iain Dale discovered he had osteoporosis only after breaking a hip.
I’ve also met men in their 30s and 40s who endured months of stressful tests before finally being diagnosed – only to be told they couldn’t access the newest drugs.
Ruth Sunderland, Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday business writer, was diagnosed with osteoporosis two years ago
This is not a niche issue. While osteoporosis is more common in women, it affects huge numbers of men. Drug trials must include them as a matter of urgency, so they do not continue to miss out on treatment.
Romosozumab was the first major new osteoporosis drug in years, followed by another breakthrough in 2024 – abaloparatide. Yet again, it is not available to men or to younger females, because it has been tested only on post-menopausal women.
So women are being failed too. I want a better deal for everyone with osteoporosis, which is why I’ve been campaigning to end the postcode lottery on Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) – specialist clinics that diagnose osteoporosis early and prevent repeat fractures. I’m proud this work has been recognised by Queen Camilla, president of the Royal Osteoporosis Society.
Before the 2024 election, Labour, the Tories and Lib Dems all committed to rolling out universal FLS across the UK by 2030. Scotland and Northern Ireland already have full coverage and Wales is close. There has been progress – 29,000 extra scans a year, 13 DEXA scanners and FLS included in the NHS ten‑year plan – but no universal service.
I went to the Labour conference in Liverpool and buttonholed Health Secretary Wes Streeting twice to ask him when we would see a concrete, funded plan.
He made the right noises but there is still no clear answer on when it will happen – and the discrimination against men is yet another way in which bone disease patients are being let down.
